Strategic Harmony:
How Meridian Scaled Multiple Locations
and Specialties with Confidence
Balancing family life and professional ambition in a dental enterprise that merges distinct specialties like Periodontics and Endodontics can seem daunting. Meridian Endodontics, Periodontics & Implant Dentistry, co-founded by Drs. Lisa Teel, Jared Frisbie and Michael Zielinski, showcases how a clear, integrated approach can align diverse specialties into a values-driven, patient-focused, and team-empowered organization.
From humble beginnings in a four operatory single location, they have impressively scaled to a vibrant three-location operation, achieving remarkable growth in each, guided by a shared commitment to clinical excellence, mutual support, and community-minded care.
The Challenge: Scaling Multiple Locations with Unified Vision
As Meridian expanded, they encountered natural growing pains: ensuring unity across specialties, managing a large provider team, and maintaining consistently high patient and referral experience across three bustling locations.
The doctors soon realized sustainable scaling required not only crystal-clear strategic direction and structured planning—it was about staying true to their purpose: delivering exceptional care while honoring the contributions of every team member and deepening relationships with referring practices.
The Moonshot Transformation: Clarifying Vision through Strategic Planning, Team Synergy and Technological Integration
To overcome these complexities, Meridian implemented a unified practice management platform and built professional infrastructure to streamline processes and elevate efficiency, that honored both operational excellence and human-centered values.
By investing in team growth through leadership workshops, the leadership team sharpened their skills in defining referral relationship value, executing robust annual and quarterly planning, and amplifying internal leadership roles. The adoption of cutting-edge AI tools further streamlined operations setting the foundation for seamless growth—freeing up teams to do more of what they do best: innovation and care.
The Result: An Unprecedented Growth Trajectory Fueled by Alignment and Altruism
Within just the first quarter of implementing these strategic initiatives, Meridian achieved nearly 10% growth—a remarkable milestone given their extensive team, multiple providers, and three well-established locations. This significant leap illustrates the profound impact of their strategic clarity and robust planning processes.
Now, the introduction of a sophisticated compensation planner promises even greater clarity and operational efficiency as it integrates fully into their organizational practices. Meridian’s leadership today thrives with renewed energy and momentum, and continues to operate with their core values of exceptional service, altruism, empathy, and shared success.
Core Insight
Strategic clarity, combined with integrated planning tools and robust resources, can transform ambitious, complex dental enterprises into harmonious, scalable, and highly successful organizations.
When a dental practice grounds its strategy in shared values, honors its people, and never loses sight of its patients—scaling becomes not only possible but deeply meaningful.
